


The You I See

by Xx_Yvonne_xX



Category: DAKAICHI (Anime), 抱かれたい男1位に脅されています。 | Dakaretai Otoko Ichii ni Odosarete Imasu (Manga)
Genre: M/M, Meet the Family, Rain
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-01-24
Updated: 2020-03-09
Packaged: 2021-02-27 03:41:28
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 7
Words: 13,691
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22360498
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Xx_Yvonne_xX/pseuds/Xx_Yvonne_xX
Summary: Takato decides to visit Junta's parents. Things don't go so well.
Relationships: Azumaya Junta & Saijou Takato, Azumaya Junta/Saijou Takato
Comments: 36
Kudos: 117





	1. Wrong

It had been a rash decision made by Takato when he was half-asleep. 

At some point in the night, with his head half-buried into his pillow, he had heard the noisy click of a camera, followed by a piercing flash of a photo being taken. Thereafter was a soft curse that barely made it to his ears as he stirs, hands coming up to rub at his bleary eyes. 

"... Chunta? What are you doing?" He faintly registers the fact that he's curled up against the other man, having slung one arm around his stomach. It's warm, and he still wants sleep. 

"Ah, please go back to sleep Takato-san," Chunta looks mortified at having woken him. "I didn't mean to wake you. Sorry." 

He then speaks about something else -- something about his phone malfunctioning -- but Takato's focus was already diminishing. He clings tighter to his source of warmth, relaxing despite the sudden pause and lack of the other man's voice. 

"Takato-san...?" His voice is soft as he leans close, no, _closer,_ to him. He's running his hands through his hair very slowly, a comforting feeling. 

Takato's eyelids, previously shut, flutter open. He could barely make out the outlines of the other's features in the moonlight. 

"E--mmm, you see, my parents... They've been wanting to meet my partner for a long time,"

There's a brief moment of silence. He thinks he feels Chunta cuddle against him, tighter. 

"I've been taking photos of you and they're great, but... I thought it'd be better that instead of a photo they saw _you_ , so."

He sounds like he's almost holding his breath. 

"Do you want to meet them, Takato-san?" 

He's waiting for his answer, and Takato knows, just _knows_ , that he's nervous. Of course, he had been giving in to most of his requests, but this had been special, requiring him to meet people he wasn't familiar with.

Takato hums lightly, managing a half-hearted reply, comforted by the sound of Chunta's excited murmuring following him as he slept. 

* * *

He regrets whatever he's said almost immediately. 

The next day had been hectic -- though he doesn't remember anything of what he's said last night and that includes agreeing to meet his parents, Chunta had been extraordinarily pumped, roaming about with his wings out more than usual, so Takato let him. 

"I don't remember saying yes to this..." Now with his hands clasped up at his face, he sighs audibly, shifting his hands a little to look into the mirror, at the burst of colours on the shirt Chunta had gotten him. 

"Eheheh, it won't be so bad, Takato-san. My parents are pretty lenient on everything." The other man encouraged, staring at him with a fond smile through the mirror. "Besides, I've met your parents the other day-- they were surprisingly encouraging about our relationship, so--"

"That's because you're _you_ , you stupid angel." He growls under his breath, looking away. He can't remember the last time he's actually been this panicky. "Of course everyone likes you. Even I, too--" He paused, quickly turning his face so the other man wouldn't see his flush. "Nevermind."

Fiddling with the shirt, he contemplates wearing something more formal, but Chunta had been insistent that his parents would most definitely be fine with him in casual clothing. 

They then leave with Takato feeling a surge of anxiety. 

* * *

The door had been left open when they had first arrived. Immediately after he'd gotten down from the car Takato had heard the commotion from the inside of the mansion, with a mix of both female and male voices. 

"Quick, now, Junta and his girl will be here any minute." He thinks he hears. There's a gruff reply, followed by the sound of a vacuum cleaner being activated inside. There's a pile of old furniture discarded outside neatly, surely from the mansion in front of them. 

Peeking in, Takato could see a glimpse of both of Chunta's parental figures, with them hurriedly dusting the place up with brooms and mops. It's huge, from what he could see, and he was already impressed. 

_They didn't look to be as strict as I thought they would be,_ he thinks, a little relieved. He's always pictured his parents to be picture-perfect figures who were always fighting to be the best because of how Chunta turned out to be capable at everything, but he supposed he was wrong about his impression of them. 

Beside him, Chunta clears his throat and knocks on the door. 

" _Madre, Padre_ \-- I'm here. We're coming in." He murmurs politely. Both of them jerk their heads towards the source of sound, clearly startled by his presence, immediately starting to turn on the charm with those ridiculous sparkles, hiding the bottles of hard-surface cleaners behind them.

"Ah, Junta, you're here. Come in, it's cold outside." His father smiles, opening the door wider for them to enter. "I've just finished making dinner, so you're just on time."

"Yeah, it's been quite a while since we've ate together," His mother chips in. "We could really use the time to talk."

A pause resonates around them as they eye Takato on his side. 

"... You're Saijou Takato, aren't you?" The mother spoke up first. "It's been a while since I've watched any shows as I was busy, but I'm pretty certain it's you."

She'd -- recognised him?

He felt his head empty for a moment before he composed himself. 

An actor! Of course! Wasn't he the mega popular actor Saijou Takato? What was he stoning for? _Obviously_ Chunta's mother would have known him.

"It's an honor. Nice to meet you." Instead of how he would analyse the person in front of him at first sight and gauge their capability, he found himself too nervous to do so when facing the foreign faces of family. He bows respectfully. "Please do take care of me."

After a while of pleasant talk about Takato's recent shows and plays (with Chunta's mother being mostly clueless about those), they're then ushered to the dining room, where Takato sits with Chunta on one side while his parents sit across them. The mansion was ridiculously fancy and huge, with bright light enveloping every corner. Even the marble floors, too, shone with his reflection in them.

He watches as dishes were set down on the table and takes a few bites of the rice once he's allowed to, with the other man staring at him with his wings out. The food reminds him of what Chunta always makes him, the idiotically delicious meals he'd make just to stare at him while he consumed it. Trying not to gnaw on the chopsticks, he searches for a topic to speak about, but his mother speaks up first.

"So, Junta... Where's that girl you promised to bring?" She asks cautiously, settling onto the topic that brought them here the first place. "I didn't get to see her at all."

Takato almost chokes.

"Girl?" Chunta's small smile was disappearing.

"You know... The partner you promised to bring?" His father adds on.

The atmosphere suddenly became tense. It felt more like an interrogation, with his parents being officers.

Chunta eyes Takato with an utterly guilty look, as if to tell him to excuse whatever she had just said. 

"Weren't you dating her in high school? The one with bangs -- what's her name again--?"

" _Madre_ \--" Gingerly slipping his hand into his, the other man interlocks their fingers. "My partner is Takato and will always be Takato from now on. I don't think I've ever mentioned about me being with a girl this time."

He sees her face pale. At first, the shock on her face quickly warped into mortification, and then denial.

"No. _No_ , Junta. That's not how it works." His father immediately halts him there, voice firm, setting down his chopsticks on the bowl neatly. "Haven't we been lenient enough on you? Why are you doing this?"

"Exactly. You've never been spiteful enough to joke around with us like this." His mother sighs. Despite their words Takato can see thar their movements are tenser, their smiles now forced and shorter. 

"I'm _not_ being spiteful!" He feels Chunta stand up with force, his hands coming down on the table and creating a loud, ringing sound. The bowls of rice shake briefly with his outburst, making some chopsticks fall.

"You _will_ sit down right now, young man. That's no way to talk to your _madre_." 

Takato could barely move, immobilized on the spot. He's never seen Chunta so angry before, his eyes raging and so piercing they might as well have been daggers. His gaze, previously cold and fixed on his parents, turned to Takato. Then, inhaling slowly, he sits down, his voice back to normal compared to the strained, raw voice from before. 

"I'm serious. This is serious." He utters, clutching Takato's hand with a strong but not rough grip. "I can let you decide anything and everything else, but Takato-san _will_ be my partner."

"How many times do I have to say it to get it in your head--"

Takato stands from his seat, pushing the bowl of rice away from him. The sudden movement caused everyone to grow silent, with his parents' attention now on him.

"I'm sorry to have caused you trouble." Face dark, he bows, his voice devoid of emotion. "I'll take my leave now. Have a good evening."

"Takato-san!" Chunta calls out, desperately, standing once he starts to leave. He'd been ready to grip his wrist if not for a voice telling him to stop.

"You're not going anywhere, Azumaya Junta, sit down. Your _padre_ and I want to talk to you."

If Takato had stayed, he probably would have seen it.

The glare Chunta shot his parents before he left and went after him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chunta: touch my man and u ded
> 
> Conclusion: dont.
> 
> \--
> 
> Anyway, thank you if you have stopped by to have a read! Hope it was worthwhile of your time.


	2. Forbidden Fruit

It had been colder than usual outside.

What first met Takato face on was the wind. Normally, Chunta had been the one taking on the role as windbreaker for him whenever they went out together, so the absence of the other man quickly grew on him. Trudging with quick, precise steps, he ignores the fall of several tree leaves that resembled confetti meeting the ground, grasping his bag with a grip that could kill.

It's quiet around him, with nothing but the illuminated street lamps and the clouded night skies, company to his foul mood.

"Takato-san!"

He clicks his tongue.

Fists tightening on the side of his shirt, he inhales sharply and picks up speed, almost breaking into a sprint with how fast he's walking. He keeps his chilled hands in his pockets, gritting his teeth when he hears Chunta's calls grow louder. 

"--ato-san. Takato-san?!" When it seemed as though he had no intention of stopping, Chunta walks in front of him, holding his arms out, blocking his way. On his expression were a mix of feelings when he stops -- relief at first, followed quickly by a flash of fear, then worry. Slowly, he leans in and pulls him into a hug, cocooning him with his warmth.

"I'm sorry." He whispers, "I wasn't expecting them to be so hostile towards me dating you."

"It's not about that. You didn't have to apologise." He sighs, pulling away from the grasp he desperately wants to stay in. He looks at him in the eye, at the truth the both of them had been avoiding. 

At the truth they had been so willing to forget with Chunta's aggressive confessions, charming phrases, cute clinginess and occasionally Takato's indulgence.

"I _am_ a man after all."

But the truth was being forcibly dug out, now. Now, the old fears Takato once had were being pried apart by fierce hands without a care about how bloody the scene would have seemed. He could still see the disapproval and utter _disgust_ stained on their faces when Chunta had announced them partners, at the change in attitude immediately after. How those faces, originally pleased, had twisted into such trepidation at the thought of them being together. 

_'No. No, that's not how it works.'_

Takato huffs, a dry laugh escaping his throat. "It's funny, right? I should've known better, but yet I gave in, each and every time."

He looks away, guilty. "I've always been scared of being found out. From the start, it's been more of losing my place as an actor, but then it became more of losing _you_."

He shuts his eyes. "I was stupid to think it had been okay then, when nobody questioned us living together. Everyone had been supportive and even your grandparents, too, but..."

_What I'm most afraid of is here, now._

"Takato-san." He feels hands clutch his, hands that were filled with renowned vigour. "We don't have to care about what they have to say here. We could just live our own lives like before." He could see Chunta's expression flit to one of determination despite the uncertainties they would definitely face. "We'll do this together, and--"

"And _what?_ What else can we do here?" He scoffed. Chunta's eyes widened, not understanding in the slightest. "This is Japan. Your parents are far from being the only ones against this. Against us." Pulling back, he could feel something burning in his eyes, conflicted. 

The other man seemed to visibly deflate at that statement. To see him being anything but full of sparkles tore at Takato's heart. 

"Look, I can't make them like me and I won't. Because they _are_ right."

"..."

"Our relationship will only be seen as something wrong, Chunta."

_It's never changed from the start._

"But what about _us_?" Chunta's voice took a different arch, his voice suddenly strained. It wasn't the same from when he spoke to his parents, when he sounded more irritated. Now, he was almost distraught. "We promised to do this _together_."

"We can't this time." _It's not the same._ "Your parents are going to be people in our lives, and I don't want them to hate you because of me. So," He paused, biting his lip. "Go back, and apologise for leaving."

_And I'll leave, just like the intruder I am to them._

"Takato-san..."

"Just, let me cool down a bit, okay?" He pulls his arm away from the hand that's refusing to give up his hold on him. Chunta seemed to be visibly shaking when he looks up, his face scrunched up with an expression he can't name as he balled up his fists. 

Afraid that he'll change his mind, Takato stones his expression and walks away without another word.

* * *

It started raining minutes later.

While the droplets were small and seemingly insignificant, they had poured onto him like it had an intent to go right through his skin, freezing and paling his body on contact. Trees around him were bowed down with pressure from the assertive rain, buildings from afar looking almost washed out with how dull it was. Beneath the sound of the traffic around him, Takato could hardly hear the sound of his own footfalls. 

He was so completely wet that he hadn't felt the puddles he'd stepped into or the wind that blew so hard it caused umbrellas to be turned inside out. Behind him, a van stopped and began yelling at him for being in the way, abruptly making him realise he's standing in the middle of the road. 

He lets himself walk aimlessly for a while after, roaming without an end in sight. The world seems to spin around him and he struggles to stand properly. He doesn't know why he's leading himself here, and in fact it had been a terrible idea, but he supposed being here couldn't hurt.

It can't have hurt after the plain rejection they had showed him.

When the door opened Ayagi stood there for a moment, his original laidback expression overwritten with surprise as silence drew on between them.

"Sai... Saijou-san...?" He even blinks, twice, to make sure he's seeing the right person.

His gaze fans out past him to the heavy storm still ongoing outside, then back to him where water was dripping from the ends of his hair and his clothes were clinging to his skin. Utterly confused and stunned, he steps aside to let him come in without saying anything.

Exhaling shakily, Takato accepts the offer.


	3. Alternate

"So, they feel a deep repugnance towards you." Ayagi hums, staring at his wine glass. Opposite him sits Takato, who had changed into one of his drier clothes, a towel around his wet hair from the shower. He chugs down another glass without much thought.

"Don't know. Don't think I want to know." He slurs. The faint trace of rosiness on his cheeks was enough to give away that he was drunk.

"Oi, Saijou-san, you're drinking too much." He tries taking the bottle of wine away from him, only to no avail, with Takato grasping onto it in protest. After a while of struggling, the other actor simply resorts to taking back his seat on the couch, supporting his cheek with one hand on the armrest.

"Wow, you look totally dejected right now. How unlike you." Ayagi stares at him with a look he could barely decipher as he downs another glass. There's a smile on his face though he just looks miserable. "You weren't even like that during that time with the photographer."

"Yeah, yeah, I know. Laugh all you want." The sentence that Takato had uttered absentmindedly caused Ayagi's expression to darken immediately. Noticing the sudden silence, he stares up, realising that the look in his eye has now changed. Without warning, Ayagi steps forward, yanking him up with fistfuls of his shirt, glaring at him with a look so serious Takato hadn't thought he was capable of. With their faces mere inches apart, he could see the glint in his eyes. 

"Laugh? You think I'm going to _gloat_ when you're like this?" His voice was low, _different._ He tightened his hold on his shirt. 

"Saijou Takato, I'm not letting anyone have a chance to hurt you. Even if it's you." In his eyes were something that told Takato he was dead-serious this time. Something that told Takato to not question what he just uttered.

He rolls his eyes nevertheless, swatting at the hand he's using to yank at his shirt. "Ayagi, I'm fine."

" _Really_?" The look in his eyes were challenging. Taunting him to have a comeback to whatever he's said when it's true that he _was_ hurt. "Then who is the one who came here at 1am, soaked to the bone? Who is the one drinking a whole bottle of wine right now, wallowing in sorrows?"

Takato shrinks back a little, unable to say anything. Ayagi stares at him for a long while before exhaling, releasing him and easing off. He stands up straight once more, running a hand through his hair. 

"Are you for real..." He growls under his breath, an exasperated smile returning on his face. "Fine, fine, princess. If you're going to drink, I'm going to do it with you."

Takato watched as the other actor brought out bottles after bottles of expensive wine, popping them open as if they were cheap cans of soda. Calls for refilled glasses soon became more and more demanding, Takato's throat burning as he tried to forget that awful night.

And, surprisingly, it worked.

Each drink offered seemed like a better and better idea. The jokes he said gets funnier, he becomes a comedian that seemed to make Ayagi laugh. The blurried, dim lights around them dangle in split versions, and he continues clutching his glass, giggling to no one in particular.

His hands gripped the glass in his hands, his eyes swiveling towards the back of his head in a distressed sense of a headache. He tilted his head as he took a long swig of the substance that had been affecting him.

He sighs as the walls became part of a fun house, changing figures in the blink of an eye. His mouth was sore from the amount of alcohol that he had poured down his throat, and as he stood he immediately fell back down on the couch in an unbalanced attempt to walk.

His stomach begins to heave in a sickly way and his head is spinning in a way that just makes no sense. It's like the whole place just got put on a carousel, slow at first but gaining momentum. 

It seems like an eternity later when the places quietens of Ayagi's noisy mindless chattering -- something about himself that he didn't bother on listening. Slouched on the couch, Takato was just about to fall asleep when he feels his arm being slung around one of Ayagi's shoulders.

"I should get you back. What's your address?" Supporting him, the other man grumbles. "Oi, stop hitting me."

Takato could barely respond, senses smothered with the overwhelming stench of alcohol. His head spun as Ayagi tried to walk, his legs almost like jelly. 

Feeling his body impact painfully with the wall with Ayagi's grasp slipping off of him, Takato groans, wincing. "What the hell--" He mumbles, slipping to the floor, "-- didn't I tell you to get used to the sloping stage?"

The last thing he remembers is falling asleep on the floor in an odd sitting position, under the illusion that it had been comfortable. 

* * *

Takato wakes in a foreign-looking bedroom, head aching and mouth dry. The beams of sunlight filtering in through the window caused him to raise a hand up to shield his eyes, his head throbbing intensely at the light. Eyebrows scrunched, he winces, sitting up after only a while of rubbing at his temples.

"Ayagi?" He groans, looking around the room. Abruptly he notices the other man in a sitting position on the couch a fair distance away from the bed, seemingly having fallen asleep in that posture where he has one hand supporting his cheek. He seems to stir at the slight call of his name, his eyes cracking open slightly to focus on him.

"Morning..." He mumbles lazily, a hint of sleepiness in his tone. 

Narrowing his eyes, Takato kicked aside the blankets, walking silently towards him. He stares at him for a while, eyes unmerciful, and he knows he looks ridiculous with his hair in every direction. 

"I'm leaving." He tells him a little nonchalently, brushing his bed hair down.

"Suit yourself." Ayagi yawns, stretching before standing up. "I wasn't expecting you to stay, anyway."

A pause resonates between them. Takato nods, the thanks he had on his tongue quickly swallowed back with the sickly sense of hungover. "Well, I'll see you around."

"Yeah." Ayagi ruffles the hair at the back of his head. Noticing that he was turning to leave, his eyes widened, a panicked expression instantly taking over his previously indifferent one. He contemplates saying something but doesn't regardless, watching him leave. 

Takato notes the gaze following him as he left, unwavering, but doesn't say anything.

After all, if the answer Takato had in store for him was to hurt, then he might as well leave things unanswered as they were.

He closes the door behind him, sighing before he leaves.

* * *

 **Bonus**

_Moments after drinking. Ayagi POV_

The phone beeps for a few seconds, long enough for Ayagi to think that he wasn't going to pick up. He's just about to hang up when he hears it click and go through. On the line was bated breath, waiting.

"Oi. your boyfriend is with me right now." Ayagi clicks his tongue impatiently. 

' _What are you doing to him.'_ Heh, an angry tone again. So not cute at all.

"Nothing. He came over and got drunk because of whatever happened at your place. I don't particularly care but, do you want to come over and get him back?" Ayagi stares at the man currently occupying his bed.

A pause. He seems to be weighing his options.

' _I can't. He wouldnt want to see me_.'

Ayagi huffs. "Thought so. Like I'd want to see your face anytime soon, too. Well, whatever suits you, if you're not gonna pick him up, I might just devour him tonight."

They both knew he wouldn't. 

"'kay. Bye-bye, Chunta-kun~"

' _Ayagi_.'

He raises his phone to his ear, an eyebrow raised. 

' _Thanks_.'

"Yeah, right. As if I want any thanks from a killer angel." He deadpanned, hearing Junta curse at him before he hung up. 

What a bother.

"Tch. Guess you're staying here, huh." Ayagi watches on at the Takato that already seemed sound asleep. "Well, thanks for disturbing my rest, I guess." He stares at the bed for a moment, wondering if he should also get under the sheets, but eventually he took the couch as a substitute. 

Of course, not before ensuring he pulled up the covers to shield the actor from the cold.

Not like he cared or anything, though. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter is probably seen as the weirdest one of all my fics in dakaichi. Honestly, I got kind of weirded out writing it too, so I know.
> 
> I know that Ayagi is portrayed as an antagonist at first, but I also feel like in the later episodes he has really become someone better. Yes, he did try to take advantage of Takato when he was drunk (and that is still not excusable), but he didn't actually do it (unlike someone else). He was this jerk at the start that's inconsiderate of Takato's feelings.
> 
> But then he started caring. He was serious for the stage play despite filming being more suited for him, and he was cleaning up his act in Hawaii even though he's been doing it for convenience all his acting career. Afterwards, he even asked Takato if he was okay with making a deal with the photographer and ran to Junta, demanding if he knew what exactly he was doing, trying to get them back together.
> 
> Yes, Ayagi is a jerk. But imo he does like Takato a lot, too, if anything. He'd give Takato up to Junta because he "was never Junta's match from the start", because he wanted Takato to be happy, even though he's doing all these little things for Takato's sake to become a better person himself. He wouldn't even have a care for where they went if he was with Takato for Christmas. 
> 
> Ayagi likes Takato, but instead he's giving up on him without even a fight. He didn't particularly care when they started flirting even in his presence or when he saw that they were 'doing plays' in public. I could totally see him being the one to comfort Takato when he needed help.
> 
> I think I've made my point. Sorry for the long note.


	4. Shuffle

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> heres a completely unrelated fact: when i was writing this chapter i actually had a random thought that maybe takato put in a good word for junta and made him win best actor (not like he needed it after getting takatos advice though), but its now a headcanon for me hahah

The first thing Takato had realised was the overwhelming amount of calls Chunta had made overnight. 

He had went home, still sluggish, his body warm and his head aching, taking a long shower before coming out to his charging phone. Immediately on the screen were the blaring notifications of numerous calls and texts from Chunta. It had stopped somehow at some point in the night, though, unlike the last time this happened.

He opens up the messages, inhaling deeply before reading them.

_Takato-san, are you alright? Please reply. [Read, 1134]_

_I know you're upset about what my parents did. [Read, 1134]_

_Could we talk for a while? [Read, 1134]_

_It's raining outside... Do you need me to get you? [Read, 1135]_

Well, that wasn't so bad, he supposed. He swiftly gives his reply by typing.

_im fine. [Received, 1142]_

_i stayed at ayagi's house for the night. [Received, 1143]_

Takato stares at his phone for a moment, pondering if he should add on that he didn't do anything with the other man. 

... No, that wasn't a good idea.

What was he even worried about? Having the need to reassure him would definitely make things seem even more suspicious. 

His phone vibrates with a call and he accepts it, hearing Chunta's worried voice come on the line almost immediately. It's not a dull, flat tone answering him unlike the last time he had been near Ayagi, so he had been more than relieved.

' _Takato-san, were you drenched from last night? You didn't have an umbrella with you, so --'_

"I'm fine. Who do you think I am? My immune system can take it." He answers, leaning against the couch with a smile. Almost immediately after saying that he sneezes, his whole body jerking up violently with that movement. He hears Chunta's bright laugh come through the line following the embarrassing moment, as well as a cheeky ' _I heard that.'_

Takato cursed at him jokingly before regaining his composure. "Where are you right now?"

' _Ah, at my parents' place. They've been trying... strange tactics to get me to date women.'_ He sounds exasperated, something new since he was always excited when he called Takato.

" _What_?" He felt his voice waver.

' _It's fine. I told them I wasn't interested, and most of them understood.'_ Chunta dismisses it easily. ' _I_ _'m going back to the studio later for a shoot, though, so I'll be able to avoid them._ '

"... Oh, the one at 1pm?" He mumbled nonchalently, glancing at his watch.

' _Wow -- you remembered_.' That's all it took to make Chunta sound happy again. ' _I'm going to be there until around 4pm. My parents insisted I have dinner there and stay the night, but I could rush back and come see you for a while before that.'_ His voice took a hopeful arch. 

"Well, do your best."

 _'Yes!'_ He could almost see him with the wings right now. _'I need to go now. See you~'_

Takato sighs, putting down his phone once he hangs up.

What should he do? Instead of just blatantly rejecting his presence as Chunta's partner, his parents had also started getting him to go out with women, indirectly telling him they didn't want him around at all. The way they were keeping Chunta by their side, too, was probably to restrict the time they could spend together. 

He huffs, laying on his bed in exhaustion. 

_"If you're so bothered, why not tell his parents face-to-face that you love him?"_ The conversation from last night came back to him slowly. He could remember vaguely some things Ayagi said while Takato drank glass after glass of wine. " _Maybe that's why they thought he did it out of spite. Because you guys hadn't tried flirting in front of them like how you definitely did in front of me."_

Takato shivered at an imaginary scenario where he confessed his feelings about Chunta. To his _parents_ , if that made it worse. Talking to Chunta about his own feelings already made it hard enough, and it took a long time, too, if anything.

But Ayagi _did_ make sense. His parents had thought that them being together had been a joke at first, so if he did show them how close they were... It might work.

All in all, this was a horrible plan, but if it had a chance of gaining approval from Chunta's parents, then it was worth it. 

He sits up, looking around, his eyes lighting up when he notices the thin stack of papers on his desk. 

* * *

It's almost 2pm when Takato reaches the front gate of the Azumaya family mansion, donned in a black blazer and black dress pants, something he was comfortable wearing. In his hands were a huge tonic hamper that he supposed he should give as a gift. 

As he warily approached the mansion that seemed to only grow more intimidating with every step, Takato felt himself freeze. His hand stopped short in front of the doorbell, a series of thoughts running through his head.

Maybe he should come back later. Maybe he should come with Chunta instead. After the last time they had met, he was sure the both of them hadn't exactly had great impressions of him. 

He glanced at the hamper he had gotten specially for them, then to the huge building standing in front of him, his confidence dipping. Quickly he turns to leave, only to hear a call from Chunta's mother from behind him.

"Saijou Takato?" She seemed obviously puzzled, in her hands her car keys. She's probably about to go out, and was just opening the gate when she spotted him. She eyes him up to down, unimpressed at the presence of the hamper, but shoves her car keys in her pocket nevertheless, leading the way to the main entrance door. 

"Come in."

His eyes widened considerably and he followed suit, unsure of what to say. The silence between them is interrupted when she leads him to the living room, where Chunta's father was reading the current newspaper.

"What are you doing here? Junta's out if you're looking for him." He barely looked up at him, gaze still fixated on the news. 

"About the other day, I'm sorry to be the cause of the argument." He sets down the hamper on the table, "Please accept this as an apology."

"And?" His mother pressed. "You think that just because you came here with an apology and some expensive gift, we're going to let you have your way with Junta?"

"N-no, I just--"

"It's probably our son that's the one influencing him." His father uttered coldly, turning to him. "Takato-kun, could it be that my son is threatening you to do this?" Folding up the newspaper and setting it next to the table, he questioned. "You could tell us, and we'd help."

Threatening... Him?

Wow, that certainly brings him back.

If this question had been asked months ago, Takato probably would have said yes. Yes, it all started as a transaction, something that involved no feelings at all from himself in particular. He would have done everything to avoid Azumaya Junta at that time, when he was still just that third-rate actor and Takato had been someone like his mentor.

Still, until now he could remember that day, the fuzzy memories of being in that heated bathroom, of him crying out for Chunta to stop. It had been strange and he recalls not wanting it at all.

But then things started to change. He begun missing the presence of the other man as days passed, something he told himself wouldn't last for long. At that time it was just _lust_ , anyway, just a yearning for touch, that's all he craved. But yet Chunta was the one who proved him wrong time after time they had spent together. In the view of the refreshing factory lights they would cuddle, with Chunta bringing in the most ridiculous topics that weren't even related. He was by far the first to ask him about how he was like before when he was in high school, all smiles as he watched him air up his past. Even when he's in the most ridiculous situations, Chunta was the one who could always somehow tease him about giving him a thousand yen.

Thereafter, brief flashes of him at work turned into lingering thoughts that always made him feel all warm inside. Staring at the ring on his hand, at the engraved words no one else but him could see, Takato felt himself smile.

"No, nothing of the sort." He flushed, "We... _are_ actually very close." Fishing out several sets of papers that were to finalize the apartment they've been eyeing, Takato continues. "We've been considering cohabiting for a long time, now, and--"

" _Cohabiting_?" His mother glares at him, almost like a tigress trying to protect her young, "You'd dare to come into my house and shamelessly proclaim that you want to live with him?"

The spark of confidence drained out of his system. Takato's heart sank uncontrollably, almost like a balloon being roughly stepped on, deflating or bursting it on impact. He crumpled the paper slightly in his fists, staring down at his lap, suddenly unsure of what to say.

"I still think he's doing this out of spite." Chunta's mother shook her head. "He's probably played some mind games with this poor boy, making him think that he _is_ in love with him." 

"I know how I feel." Takato seethed through his teeth, a quiet mutter that almost went unheard. 

"What did you say?" His father turned towards him, his face embroidered with irritation. 

"I said, I know how _I_ feel. The both of you are the ones pretending not to know how _your_ son feels. You invalidate HIS feelings, you invalidate MINE, just because of your definition of what is right and wrong. But I'm _not_ going to have any of that, because I've made up my mind to be together with him." In the silence that followed this outburst, Takato just had time to realise that Chunta's parents were staring at him, and that he was the one who had spoken. 

"Takato-kun." Her tone was serious and firm. It was the kind of tone people used whenever they wanted to indicate that he was in trouble, the kind of tone that signified he was going over the boundaries they set up for him. "Are you implying that we don't know _our_ own son?" Her eyebrow rose up by an arch. "Because, pardon me for my bluntness, I think we're the ones who know our son best compared to someone like you. Oh, and trust me on that -- you're not the first person he's played."

"Enough of that." Chunta's father spoke up, taking out the cheque book that was previously on the table. "How much do you want?"

"H... _Hah_?"

"Need I say more? I'm convinced you're just the product of another one of his tempers. Just how much do I have to pay you to leave our Junta alone?" He scribbles on the cheque, tearing it off and waving it in front of him. The amount is impressive, but Takato couldn't help but feel his heart drop.

"Is that too little for you? Hah, I get it, you are a famous actor after all." He adds a couple more digits at the back. "Take it and leave. Rest assured we wouldn't say anything and taint your reputation, Takato-kun."

"I -- _what_?" He could hardly believe what he was hearing. "I don't want it." It felt as though there was a ball of lead inside of him, hot like indignation and heavy like despair. 

"Then what else do you want? Money? Connections? My retirement?" 

"That's enough."

Takato swirls around at the sound of a familiar voice, eyes widening when he notices Chunta standing outside the main door, with it left slightly ajar. He looks different, his face written with _hurt,_ like he doesn't know what he's supposed to do here, having walked in on something he's not supposed to hear. Slamming the door open, he walks in brazenly, taking Takato's wrist and pulling him up. Even though he seemed livid, the hold on him was extraordinarily gentle.

"There you are, Junta. Give him the money and ask him to go. We'd give you anything you wanted as long as you stop this nonsense."

Completely ignoring his mother's words, Chunta tugs at his wrist lightly, looking more pained than he has ever seen him.

"Let's go, Takato-san."


	5. Apple of My Eye

"Let's go, Takato-san."

Before him stands a beast who looks more galled than anything at the situation unfolding in front of him, a sort of minacious aura radiating off of him. Chunta seemed like he was trying his best to hold himself back from lashing out, his lips pressed tersely in a thin line. Not even his blonde bangs were able to cover his fuming, glowering eyes, as well as the way he looked at them like they were enemy. 

"Wait. None of you are going anywhere until we settle this once and for all." His father thundered, standing up from his chair, making a loud creaky noise with how it scratched across the spotless marble floor. Takato winced, immediately feeling Chunta step in front of him, as if having a sense to shield him. "Junta, you're usually more sensible than this. Dating a _guy_? What were you thinking?"

"Rejecting all the girls we brought you, too, even though we spent so much time to get them to come..." His mother muttered quietly at the side.

" _Madre,_ I told you that I was seeing Takato-san that other night, didn't I?"

"And _I_ told you I didn't approve of you two being together, too, if my memory didn't fail me." She snarled back.

"Don't do this right now, _madre,_ please --"

"-- I should be the one telling you to stop acting like you're really in love with that poor kid."

 _"--Please don't do this right now._ " There's clearly an edge to his voice, his muscles taut with tension. The throbbing in Takato's temples feels like it's worsening by the moment as he watched them, leaving a sour taste in his mouth that's somehow even worse than when he spoke to them alone.

His father merely shrugs and turns back to his mother, his eyes cold. "I'm not going to support the two of you."

Chunta had grown silent at that statement, intimidatingly so. Takato contemplates stepping out to say something when the other man suddenly steps out, a gutteral growl escaping his throat as he used his bare hands to sweep the contents off of the table. Messy reports scatter everywhere, landing strewn untidy on the ground. 

" _What do you think you're doing._ " His father snaps.

"What am I doing? Hah," He grabbed the glass vase on the table, on his face a wild look that left no room for restraint, " _Look_ at me, and _try_ figuring that out."

The sound of glass smashing into a thousand glittering fragments showered Takato's senses in sharp slivers. The headache he has is fierce now, dragging pain behind his eyes, but he crouches down anyway and tries picking up the shards as they began arguing once more, his ears ringing. Trying to pick the argument apart wouldn't even work, he'd known now; his voice seemed so small in this family, and he was nothing but this insignificant piece of _dirt_ being the root of their problems.

"Accept you? How can we accept you when all you've shown us is this barbaric side of you after being with him?" 

"Exactly. If I could, I would've stopped you from starting your acting career in the first place."

"Well, _fine_ ," Chunta's face grew dark, " If I could choose, I wouldn't want to stay your perfect son, either."

The sound of a hard slap makes Takato freeze, resonating with a clanging echo which matched the fear in his heart. He watched Chunta raise a shaky hand to clutch his cheek, his face still swept to the right from the force of the slap, his messy wave of bangs covering his eyes. 

"You've really gotten too far now. Who do you think are the ones supporting you when you decided to take on this actor job?" His father was shaking with anger as he uttered every word. "You really think you could've gotten the first place for that stupid ranking if not for us helping you, huh?"

A look of unabashed surprise surfaces on Chunta's face. He looks up, stunned, his eyes reflecting confusion, like he doesn't know how to respond.

"Yes, of course you've had your own charm, but it always seemed somewhat lacking. Your _madre_ and I just wanted to give you a push for that -- what was it called again? The most desirable man ranking or something --"

Chunta had visibly stiffened, like he could barely form a coherent thought. He takes another step back, stumbling over the edge of the couch and it's the way that he's so unlike him which makes Takato worried. Their eyes catch momentarily and Chunta looks almost _scared,_ a sort of lethal fear in his eyes that's nothing like what he'd seen before. Without warning, the other actor then sprints sharply towards the stairs and makes his way up briskly, eyes averted and concentrating on something else as he shoves what seemed like his room door open before running inside.

"Chun... _Chunta_?!" It's only now Takato finds himself able to react.

He nearly slips on the stairs several times due to his unsteady footing, beads of cold sweat prickling against his skin. Takato runs as fast as his legs would carry him, bolting after Chunta, only to be shut out by the slam of his room door. Downstairs, voices rose to a crescendo of rage, mocking Chunta for his behaviour, but Takato ignored it regardless. 

"... Chunta?" He leans against the door a little, lowering his voice, "Can I come in?" 

He raps on the door once, twice, and waits for a reply. When none came, Takato gulped and reached for the doorknob. "I'm coming in."

The door creaks and light filters into the entirely dark room as Takato gingerly twists the knob. Inside he could see Chunta sitting at the front of his bed, resting his chin on his clasped knuckles, the only light in his room from a small bedside lamp near his bed. He'd seen him sulk before but that had been rare to come by, too -- since he was always so sparkly around Takato -- but this time it had been different. There seemed to be an invisible weight on his shoulders, a darkness he held behind those eyes, the kind that has been robbed of the sunshine he always wore around him. 

Chunta looks up at his arrival, staring behind him, as if expecting someone else.

"They didn't come with me." Takato assures, shutting the door behind him with a firm, dull _thud_. He attempts to sit down beside him on the bed, but feels Chunta pull away from the spot he previously occupied. Annoyed, he then opts to sit on his lap instead, blocking off all means of his escape, looking at him directly with an unfaltering look.

"What's going on?" Something was clearly very, very wrong, but he didn't know what. "Oi, Chunta, talk to me."

"I'm sorry, Takato-san. You don't deserve to be with me." The sentence felt like it was ripped out of Chunta's throat, almost like a scream and yet a plea combined. It was the tempest Chunta made audible, the way he wrote his pain into the air between them.

Startled at the way the other man was acting, Takato leans closer.

"What?" He grips his hand. "What are you saying?" Abruptly realising that the heel of his palm felt wet, Takato stares at him skeptically before a sudden thought surfaces and hits him. He reaches up to touch Chunta's face in the darkness, eyes widening when he saw that his eyes were slightly swollen.

Oh, no. This isn't good. 

"I was never the most desirable man, was I..." Chunta trails off, and he could almost see that helpless smile on his face. "It's simply a spot I robbed from you because of the wheeling and dealing they did."

He felt Chunta raise the back of his palm to rub at his face roughly, at the pain and the remnants of the tears, as if they could be removed as easily as that. "We were never meant to be together -- it's all just based on lie after lie."

It took a moment for Takato to realise he was cupping both hands around Chunta's head, pulling him down against his shoulder for something almost like reassurance. The act had come so naturally to him that he was surprised, himself.

Making that kind of face... Saying these kinds of words... 

Somehow, he just felt the urge to hug him.

"I hated it. ... Hated _me_." Hands squeezed around his middle almost a little too tightly.

"Especially the first time when I forced myself on you." As if noticing something, those hands immediately loosened their grip. "I kept having flashes back to that, at how upset you were, to the extent where I was being scared you'd leave me."

"..."

"But I always thought that you'd come back because I was desirable. Didn't top the ranking for nothing, right?" He huffs. "What a joke."

"Hey." He places both hands on either side of his face, pulling him down until they were so close their noses were touching. "You're the number 1 most desirable man to me."

The other man visibly froze before him.

Takato flushed immediately, quickly adding on to his statement. "I mean... If you were to ask me, obviously I'd want myself to be the first, but..." He looked away, his voice now lower, almost like a mere mumble. "... you're special, I guess."

Silence.

For a moment Takato had thought he'd said something wrong, but then he saw Chunta taking on a complicated expression, his eyes widened. Without warning, Chunta broke into a smile, biting his lip to stop his huge grin, the look immensely confusing on someone like him. He seemed as though he was going to say something but paused, a myriad of bittersweet emotions written all over his face. 

Chunta raised his hand to his lips when a huge choked chuckle broke free, almost as though he's been holding that back for a long time. With tears still rolling down his face, Takato found himself utterly bewildered to see the other acting this way, a slight, perplexed smile twitching up his lips as he thought of what to say.

The next thing he knew, he was being enveloped into a crushing hug, the other man having lunged forward to wrap his arms around him. Takato could feel Chunta almost _shaking_ as he held him, and gingerly he circled his arms around the other actor himself.

Of course, he'd known of how much Chunta wanted to be _his_ most desirable man, but he hadn't expected to see him so astonished at something they should both know by heart now. He could feel Chunta melt and relax entirely into his grasp, the rejection from just now entirely forgotten like that. 

In a moment, the other actor pulls away, looking into his eyes, blissfully smiling down at him. But the elation eventually faded and the other actor slowly leans against his shoulder, as if exhausted.

"Takato-san..." He draws little patterns on his shirt, almost like a small child, his voice soft.

"Can we stay together, just like this?"

And Takato is just about to open his mouth, to scoff at such a silly statement, but then pauses when a thought surfaces.

Has he...

' _I'm sorry... Even if you hate me... Can I still like you?_ '

... Always been like this?

_'Is it fine for me to stay by your side?'_

Insecurities a complex and intricate web twirled around him...

' _I've always thought about how we should spend christmas together. I'm glad you liked it.._.'

... Always worried about whether Takato would have a change of heart, or whether the people around him might take the chance to gobble him up.

' _I'm just worried...Takato-san was so defenseless_."

Always fearful of hurting him.

' _I'm sorry for making you cry. I'm sorry for scaring you._ '

About being someone that wasn't useful to him.

' _Ah, I once had a part-time job at an unpopulated island... I'm glad I still remember how to do this_.'

The one and only thing that the different sides he showed Takato seem to have in common were the insecurities buried deep within them, corrupting them. 

' _please say you love me too._ '

" _Yes_ ," and Takato breaths out, his tone unbelieving, taking on an arch, firm. "Yes, we'll stay together. Haven't we been doing that all along? Yes, _you idiot_."

He swoops down to kiss him, feeling Chunta reciprocate immediately by pressing him closer, two strong arms tightly embracing him. Takato could feel a tremor run through his body, and he let out a shaky sigh as their lips parted, eyes on each other.

The silence that followed after wasn't uncomfortable. None of them found a need to say anything, the atmosphere being serene and _enough_ , the way it is.

Hazily, while leaning against Chunta, Takato remembers a faded memory from that time when they were in the classroom, when Chunta's words seemed to make no particular sense, telling him to call a kiss with him his first kiss, whatever.

 _'I can consider this as your first time as well, right?_ '

That's what he had said while Takato was pressed on the student desk, the uncomfortable wooden material a thing he jaggedly remembered amongst everything else. He'd written it off that day as something Chunta just said to see another shameful side of himself, but now...

Now, he finally understood. 

The want -- the _need_ \-- for Chunta to erase the unglorified first time they had. The first kiss they had.

 _'... I hated me_.'

"Chunta..." He paused, feeling the other man's gaze focus on him, "You can mark me."

That probably came off too suddenly. Chunta cocked his head to the side, not understanding.

"... Eh?"

"I'm on a week's leave, anyway," Takato blurts out, his face growing a furious shade of red. "It'd fade by then."

"Really?" Chunta lit up instantly with that nonsense aura. He grasps Takato's arms, wings spreading out behind him.

"Yeah." 

That was what he always wanted, wasn't it? The face he'd shown him when Takato had stopped him from leaving a hickey previously... Of disappointment and guilt... 

' _Ahahah, I'm just frustrated, because you never let me give you one_.'

He didn't want to see it anymore.

Feeling Chunta lean in, Takato allows himself to relax, fluttering his eyelashes shut as he placed his hands on the other actor's shoulders cautiously. 

"-- Saijou Takato."

Before anything else could happen, though, a voice found itself inside the room, effectively ruining the moment. 

The pair flinched abruptly. Takato turns around, startled when he saw that the door had been slightly open, no doubt what his parents did in an effort to listen in on them. Immediately climbing off of Chunta's lap in a hurry, Takato almost trips in the process, feeling himself be seized up by two pairs of wary eyes that didn't look happy at all. His mother clicks the light switch on, eyeing their entangled hands and messy hair with faint disinterest.

"Do you really love him?" Her voice was flat.


	6. Stolen Shot

The dinner together was awkward. 

More than awkward, actually, for Takato who had been the object of his parent's stares for minutes now. Nobody had wanted to speak up first, and there seemed to be this heavy silence resembling dark clouds settling over their heads, causing Takato to grow even more uneasy with the passing minute. He shifted slightly in his seat and tried to avoid the eyes that were trailing after him, cursing at Chunta mentally for taking his time in 'getting drinks' for them.

Couldn't he see that Takato was already suffocating under the hefty weight held in their gaze? Why had that idiot angel chosen specifically this time to leave?

He sat up straighter stiffly and felt Chunta's mother lean back against her seat, eyes shut and arms crossed, as if ready to speak. Relief floods his veins.

"So, Takato-kun," She demands with unamused eyes, "What makes you think you're deserving to be my son's partner?"

 _... Deserving_... She said...

Truth to be told, he hadn't even known of what Chunta saw in him in the first place. In the first night they spent drinking together, Takato had been envious of Chunta being first place, uttering so many horrible things about how a greenhorn like him wouldn't know how things worked in the industry. He hadn't exactly been the one maintaining this relationship, either -- Most of the time Chunta had been the one comfortably steering them forward. And he had, well, just been the recipient of Chunta's affection.

They didn't even have a formal confession before they got together. It was just that they were more than just _close_ for the longest time, and that's all.

"Well, I can't exactly answer that question, since I'm not good enough for him. I don't deserve your son."

The answer came out even more stupid than how he envisioned it to be. Noticing that his father had raised an eyebrow, Takato flushed. "But what I know is that we want to be happy with each other. We... hadn't been the most open with our relationship. We've to risk being caught in scandals and face disapproval amongst the people around us, but even so," He stared in the direction of the kitchen, where Chunta's form had disappeared to. "He decided that he wanted to be with me. And I thought that we could be happy together, with it being our decision to make. No matter what."

' _Chunta. From now on, let's stay together. For the rest of our lives._ '

"It was something I had only with him and no one else. And I'm sure he felt the same, so." He looks up to his parents firmly, giving them a pointed onceover, "I'm certain that despite anything, I want to be there for him. _With_ him. And I want to be the one to be happy with him."

_That's my resolve._

His parents eye one another for a sharp moment. Chunta's mother finally huffs after a long moment of silence. "... Don't think that I'm going to be so easily convinced. I'm not that easy."

"What after?" His father cuts in, eyeing him cautiously for just a split moment, as if examining him. Takato tries to repress a shiver. "How long are you two planning to do this in secret? You can't exactly ask Junta to stay like that with you forever."

"Coming out in Japan is frowned upon, too. But you can't expect to stay within these walls for the rest of your life." His mother tuts, adding on.

Takato paused, unable to manifest any satisfactory answer for them at the moment. He hadn't even considered that in the first place. Chunta had always been alright with him placing his work as priority (despite the occasional pouts, of course), so...

"Hah! See, in the end you're just _ashamed_ to be seen with Junta, aren't you?" His mother shakes her head, grabbing her car keys off of the table, looking ready to leave. "You may be a pretty boy, but that's what I fear about you. That you're just like her to Junta."

 _"_ Her, who?" Takato asked, his voice so small it was almost like a suspicious hiss.

" _You didn't know_? Oh, poor thing."

Chunta's father leaned closer towards him, hands under his chin, like he was about to tell him a secret. "Junta had a girl back then. How it turned out to be was horrendous even for us to see -- the girl had been sweet, and we liked her very much, too. But Junta just dumped her for no apparent reason like it had been a game.

Thereafter, she begun coming here to beg Junta to come back to him. She grew desperate, grew clingy, tried to get us to help her... But nothing worked. Junta just moved on from her, I suppose."

"You're probably the same to him, anyway. Once he gets his fill of fun, you'd just be history." With that, she stood and made her way towards the door, swinging it open, about to make her exit.

That is, if she could even take a step out of the door with the massive crowd of reporters nestled outside.

Realising that someone had came out, the reporters quickly stood and ran towards their source of information. "Ah, there they are! Azumaya Junta and his parents do reside here, as the fan had seemingly told us!"

They came flooded inside, all of them shoving at each other at the door, fighting to get scoops for their magazines and papers. "Uwah, Saijou Takato is at the scene too! What good timing."

A reporter pushed his way towards his father, who looked visibly shocked. "Azumaya-san, what do you think about the tweet which went viral online recently? Many fans are dying to know the truth behind the circulated tweet!"

"What... What do you mean...?" 

"Ah, so you haven't seen it yet?" He whipped out his phone, placing it in front of them with a triumphant smile. "There's this tweet claiming that both Totaka and Azumaya Junta are lovers, and even various photos were uploaded as evidence of how close they are!"

His father snatched over the phone with one snag and glared at the screen. On it _are_ photos of them together -- not even those that were skillfully photoshopped. Takato vaguely remembered some of them from their trip to Hawaii, the angles that were shot of them distorted but still recognisable. In the post the fan had questioned the nature of their relationship, doubting they would move in together just because of work. The frequent number of times they were seen together, too, was another factor that led her to the conclusion that there was something going on between them.

"Please respond! Do say some of your thoughts on this issue!" The reporters rushed to be as close to them as possible, practically shoving their microphones into their faces. They weren't just some polite crowd; they looked like they had been hungry for a scoop for ages now, after being starved with the same few headlines to make as news these days.

The sound of a door slamming made him jump. He could see both of Chunta's parents now looking _pissed,_ anger straining their every feature. The cries from the reporters for them to say something grew louder, as if a protest, but they ignored them.

"What's this?" His father raised his voice, enraged. "It's no laughing matter to be caught on camera. Now that they have evidence, what are you going to do?" His eyes were smouldering with fury and utter disgust as he eyed Takato and then Junta, who had slowly shuffled out of the kitchen, having heard the whole ordeal.

"Exactly. Both of you are actors, too, making it worse. Honestly..." A muscle twitched involuntarily at the corner of her right eye, her mouth formed into a rigid grimace. 

"..." Even Junta seemed a bit lost. It was true that they were able to keep the photo from circulating the previous time, but this was different. The reporters already had their eyes on them, and they didn't look like they were going to let go anytime soon.

The helplessness rolls over Takato like a tank, slow and painful. The fact that they couldn't even play it off as a mistake this time made him feel like throwing up. From just now, the nervousness when he had to face his parents had already been enough to take a toll on him, and now... And now... 

He felt so faint, knowing that this would likely make the headlines as entertainment for the industry tomorrow. What were they going to do now? Let the reporters write as they pleased? 

His legs felt numb and there's a rising feeling of nausea from his stomach. 

"Takato-san...?" Feeling Chunta grasp his wrist, Takato stares up sharply. The mist of fear seems to dissipate instantly when he feels the warmth of the other on his arm, and he thinks he _hears_ again, the low murmuring of his parents at the side as they discussed what to do, the distant chirping of the koel birds; what was previously masked by the racing thoughts of his own. Takato gingerly trails his gaze to the door, then back to the man cautiously touching his hand, thoughts forming in his head.

_'If they had run away together, the flowers wouldn't have been in such a distorted form.'_

... What,

was he _ashamed_ about? He wants to be with him. That's the truth he wants to give. 

Grabbing Chunta's arm, Takato pulls him towards the door, ignoring the questioning from his parents. The other man trailed behind him wordlessly, as if trying to comprehend what he was doing, in his gaze an uncertainty.

The uncertainty Takato had in his eyes months ago when Chunta had first found him while he could have found anyone else. The uncertainty that isn't there now, not any longer.

"I'll make it so that we'll never be apart, Chunta." He utters, the phrase so soft it's almost like a threatening whisper. 

With his parents' advice falling on deaf ears, Takato grips the handle, hands almost shaking, and swings the door open.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I actually planned to finish this fic by this chapter, but then it was getting too long so I just cut it off and split it to the next chapter.
> 
> ... Also because I can't figure out how to give it a proper ending, haha. I have a problem with ending off most of my fics.
> 
> That aside, happy leap year everyone! :D it's almost the 29th of Feb here.


	7. You're Mi Tesoro, too

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> どんな悲劇も惨劇も  
> 僕たちだけの結末を  
> あなたが悲しむエンディングなら  
> 僕がそんなローグ書き変えてやる
> 
> Regardless of the tragedy that  
> Awaits for us in the end  
> If the conclusion of our story  
> Bears an ending where you're upset  
> I'll rewrite the story for you
> 
> \- Fukanzen Monologue, Tomohisa Sako

"Saijou Takato and Azumaya Junta, what do you have to speak of this incident?" 

The reporters had sprung to action the moment a chance was presented in front of them. Clicking their cameras once more and raising their mics to their faces, they looked eager for an answer. "Is it really true? That the both of you are in a romantic relationship?"

Takato casts a wary look towards Chunta, at the alarmed look that was on his face, seemingly asking him if he knew what he was doing. He smiles briefly before turning back to the reporters, clutching at his hands and entangling them, allowing the warmth to let him know that it was going to be alright. 

"Yes."

That seemed to send them into an immediate frenzy. The paparazzi roared, clicking even more photos of them standing together. "A man with a man? Even though it's not really acceptable in Japan?" Someone from the crowd asked brusquely amidst all the talking and firing of questions. 

Takato merely nods, an almost condescending expression on his face. "We _are_ holding hands now, after all." 

"How are you going to account for the fans who voted you as most desirable man for five years in a row?" Another yells from the back. The crowd raised their cameras and phones, ready for something they can include in their scoop.

"I'll accept whatever you have to say about me." Takato murmurs very truthfully. The answer was probably dull and something unexpected for such an actor like him, for the crowd grew very silent.

"Yes, it's true that many fans have voted for me and I appreciate it, I really do, but..." He squeezes Chunta's hand, "It only matters if I'm Junta's most desirable man. Also, about the topic on how our relationship isn't going to be widely supported in Japan--"

On his tip toes, he tugs Chunta down by his collar and smashes their lips together for a brief, rough kiss, running his hands through his hair in the process, leaving it utterly messed up when he separates them.

"--That's my opinion. I don't need you to accept me for who I am. I don't care if you're going to stare at me with dirty looks or stop supporting me as a whole. Because I have him." He casts a look towards Chunta, who had raised a hand to his lips, his face blank. "And that's enough. No one can get to say what we get to be."

"What about your acting career? Surely, things will be different after some know of your -- _preferences_ \--"

"Totaka can be no more because of this and I wouldn't care less." Takato utters with all honesty. Beside him, Chunta seemed shaken inside, having froze up on the spot, stoning at him with a bewildered expression. He only tore his gaze off of Takato when the reporters turned to him.

"Azumaya Junta, what about you? How do you feel about this situation?"

Chunta pauses, as if assessing the question, looking towards Takato in the process. He then laughs brightly after a moment, his chuckle lifting the spirit of the interrogation as he grew comfortable in the current situation he was put in. His face has a softness to it when he smiles at Takato, one that lacks the inner bitterness when he looks at the paparazzi who were trying to break them apart.

"Takato-san made me into who I am today. I wouldn't mind throwing away anything if I have him."

* * *

The door shuts behind them once the reporters had gotten their fill of questions and had filed away obediently. Silence lingers in the air as Takato turns to Chunta, his eyes flickering tersely to his face, at the foolish, dazzling smile that's plastered there, tempting him to curl his own lips upwards. 

Immediately he's encased into a hug, pressed snugly into Chunta's shoulder with their height difference. His grasp is stronger than anything he's ever known, as if holding him wasn't quite enough and that he had to feel every ounce that he was press into every ounce that was Takato. The other actor is making small exhilarated noises as he buries his nose in his hair. 

"Oi -- not in front of your parents --" Takato fiercely whispered.

"Well, it wasn't like you two kissed right in front of us and the camera, was it?" His father said rather bluntly, his words with a playful tone to them. Takato flushed, pulling away from the hug.

"Hm. But if I were to say so, you were bold to have taken on the incident directly. Though, I'm unsure of the consequences that follow, that is. What do you say?" He turns to Chunta's mother, his expression flicking to one of confusion as she walks past him.

She practically storms up to Takato until they were barely a few feet apart, her arms crossed as she just stared at him long and hard with a straight face. Takato bit his lip, unsure of how to react.

The silence was the most terrifying part, like how it was before a bomb. There were all the unknowns of whether one should be hopeful or not, a time where doubt could suddenly grow until it engulfs him.

"Pass." She finally mutters, dropping the serious look.

" _Ha_?"

"I'm saying you passed, pretty boy. Barely, but a pass nevertheless because of my generosity." She finally reveals a smile when she reaches out to pinch Takato's cheek, "That aside. Have you grown thinner since the last time I've seen you?"

"I... Have?" Darn it. Just as he thinks he's starting to be able to build some muscle, too... 

"Junta." She calls sharply.

"Yes?" 

"Shouldn't you be a little more responsible for his wellbeing? Look at him, he's all skin and bones." She surveys him, twirling him around to look at him from all angles. "You look more malnourished than anything, honestly. Does he make sure you have your meals?"

"Ah... Yes." 

"What about your sleep? Does he bother you at night?" She pressed on. "Junta can be very persistent sometimes."

"I... guess." Takato chokes out, emitting a dry laugh, his face growing red. 

"Ah, but Takato-san is the one keeping me up at night sometimes, though~"

"-- For script-rehearsing." Takato cuts in sharply, kicking the other man's leg as he laughed off whatever has been said. "We just get carried off a little sometimes, haha. Now, if you'll excuse us, we're going back to our rooms." He glared at Chunta, starting to push the sparkling angel upstairs. 

* * *

"To make things clear, I did not keep you up at night. You're the only one getting all worked up by yourself, you rotten perverted angel." Takato snarls once they were in the room, hurling himself onto the bed. He was already exhausted from the day itself, and the last thing he wanted to do was deal with this.

"Eh? But I didn't mean it that way..." Chunta trails off, looking perplexed. He lays down next to him, smiling sweetly. "I was talking about the movie marathon we had the other week... _unless_ you were thinking otherwise?" 

"Movie marathon, my ass! When did we even--" He trails off, realisation striking him as he remembers that he _did_ spend the last week watching a series of movies with Chunta. Because they had been done with 'Blood Wedding', the higher-ups had permitted to give them a longer break, of which one week was spent by them just going out in the day and binging movies at night. 

Had that been what he meant? Of staying up because of him? 

_What the heck had he been thinking of?_

Watching him come to a realisation, the smile on Chunta's face grow wider.

"Shut up." Growing incredibly red, Takato sputters something incohorent, trying to free himself of the embarrassment. The other actor merely laughs brightly, wrapping his arms around him protectively. 

The movement caused Takato to realise there's something in his pocket. Jolting up, he dug his hands into his pockets, coming up with the tube he'd found just a while ago. 

"What's that?"

"Ointment." He uncaps it cautiously. It was something he'd gone off to get after the vicious fight between Chunta and his parents, seeing that things had become violent. But since the reporters had burst in without warning, this had been out of his mind until now. "Chunta, lean down a bit. Your face." Takato squeezes a bit of the ointment on his fingers, rubbing it gingerly in circles on his slightly bruised cheek. Though the slap from before hadn't been a forceful hit, it looked like it stung.

"Your hand..." Having watched him silently, Chunta grasps his wrist, alarmed, pulling him in for a closer look. 

His hand was full of cuts from picking up the glass shards previously. There were raw and weeping flesh in various shades of pink and red, spotting beads of dried blood coming from the wound. 

"Ah. It's nothing much." Takato laughs, pulling his hand back. 

"Doesn't it hurt?"

"It does." He smiles gently, caressing the wounded hand. "But it's only natural, actors are surrounded by all kinds of props after all. I'm used to it; getting hurt now and then." He paused. "Or at least, that's what I thought."

In Saijou Takato's world, there has never been a time where perfection isn't required of him. Since he had held onto the position of being the best since the very start, the expectations had only climbed higher and higher. 

He begun learning secrets, dark ones about the acting industry. Begun uncovering the little tricks to get to where he had been. He'd been taught not to get too attached, not to find additional trouble for himself. But then... 

"But then I met you."

So sparkly. So angelic, like the world was at his fingertips and there was nothing against him. He was the very one proving him wrong time after time, winning over the audience's hearts with his steadfast and yet flexible acting style.

Takato had been afraid the first time he'd truly encountered him. Afraid of getting attached, afraid of wanting to truly have him.

Afraid of Chunta leaving after he'd unmercifully thrown away so many sides of himself.

The fear still lingers. But time after time, feeling Chunta's hands in his, it was enough. 

"You're-- this." He phrases poorly, waving his hands about, his face entirely flushed. "You're always so much that I'm not, so bright, but I thought it'd be better if you... _talked..._ to me." 

He doesn't want to lose him. Whatever they had. 

"Eh? But I am?" Chunta looks obviously puzzled. Noticing his strange behaviour, the other man holds his hands in his own very gently, lifting it up for a quick peck. "What's wrong?"

"Chunta." He takes on a careful tone, warily prodding at something that has been bothering him. "Your parents... Told me about your previous relationship."

The other man seemed to still in that moment. Taking advantage of the period of silence, Takato latches onto the topic. 

"You didn't tell me about her at all."

Chunta had grown eerily quiet beside him, leaving the uttered sentence hanging heavily in the air. He could already sense a sort of menace coming from him.

"I'm just curious. We don't have to talk about this if you don't want to." 

There's no response, but the tightening of Chunta's grasp on him told him enough. Nodding, Takato shuts his eyes. "It's alright. I-"

"Wait."

Takato pauses, feeling the other man press his face onto his shoulder. 

"She... was my junior." 

Oh.

"Someone that liked me since the start of the school term. At that time, I was still the me before I met you. The me that was always different."

"Different?"

"Yeah." He sounded so worn out. "Emotions that came naturally to others were never like that for me. I could never entertain the idea of feeling differently towards someone, I was always indifferent and allowing. I had no perception for personal space or anything like that; I'd use anything for my benefit, I'd date someone even if I felt nothing for them."

"..."

"That's what happened with her. We spent our summers together, with her planning most of our dates, anyway. I never understood why she was so enthusiastic about us being together. Even the smallest things like holding hands in public... She could show the brightest smiles as she ushered me to come along with her."

Takato flushes, remembering his own attitude towards Chunta whenever he brought them around. He was always so sparkly, too, so he thought the other actor wouldn't mind, but...

A rush of guilt hits him as he recognises that maybe his indifferent attitude was the reason why Chunta had felt that way. That Takato would leave for someone better if he hadn't completely left his mark on him.

"I left without a word after. Feeling nothing for her, I left to continue with my life, to take on a part-time job, a pizza deliveryman. She tried calling me and finding me after, but I just ignored her, time after time, until she eventually stopped coming. It was all the same to me, anyway. That is, until I met _you_."

The silence caressed his skin like a cool summer breeze, smoothing his soul, taking away the jagged edges that had once been an incomplete puzzle. He opens his mouth, tries searching for a reassurance to say, but Chunta speaks up first. 

"Takato-san... Maybe you shouldn't have told the media about us."

"What?" His voice came out as an almost incoherent squeak. 

"Have you really thought it through? You've been acting for 20 years now-- it must feel miserable to have me rob it away from you."

"It's long overdue, anyway, since the moment I decided I wanted to be with you." Takato scoffed, looking away. 

Chunta didn't seem convinced. "I didn't tell you about that girl-- or my past, because I wasn't like you. I wasn't someone who was glorified or even deserving, I was _different_. You don't know who I am, Takato-san." The other man's voice had gone so low it's almost like a whisper.

"Are you an idiot?" He huffs, cupping his face in his hands, staring at him straight in the eye. "Of course I know who you are. You're _mi tesoro_ , too."

So what if he had been whatever he was in the past? Had that stopped them from being together? 

He'd willingly take away all of those negative connotations Azumaya Junta had of himself if asked of him. 

Chunta must have realised that, too. His conflicted expression ultimately disappears with him breaking into a huge smile. He leans in, practically crashing his lips onto Takato's, holding him so tight it feels like he's never going to let go. 

He'd just begun to reciprocate when his phone began ringing, a slight vibration that seemed like the most annoying sound at that very moment. Takato sits up instantly, feeling Chunta's eyes linger on his form as he went to get it. His gaze is hardened while he stared at the shining screen, looking obviously pissed, his mood dampened as he watched Takato accept the call. 

"Hello?" He managed, his voice still a little shaky.

' _Ah, sorry to bother you at this time, Takato-kun.'_ Sasaki's distinct voice came through the phone.

"Is there something wrong?" He held the phone closer to his ear. Sasaki -- who was normally straight-to-the-point -- paused. _'I need you to know something. But I want you to stay calm.'_

"Okay. Tell me about it." What could it have been? More bad news regarding them? 

A pause from Sasaki's side.

"Well?!" Takato demands nervously, his fists clenched. "Stop with the suspense and tell me what's wrong."

 _'Look at the headlines for today, Takato-kun.'_ He could practically _hear_ Sasaki's smile through his voice. 

"Hah? Why?" 

_'Just do it.'_

Grudgingly (and still a little flushed from the kiss just now), Takato huffs before tapping open the news section on his phone.

He tenses when he sees the photos taken of himself and Chunta on the news, but it's nothing compared to the moment he sees the headlines that follow those pictures. 

He stares, stares and _stares_ , his mouth falling open as he tries to process the simple few sentences etched in the largest section on the news.

* * *

####  \-- TOP NEWS --

** More than 5M starting petition to make same sex marriage in Japan legal as part of their response towards Saijou Takato and Azumaya Junta's relationship**

Today 04:04 pm JST 372 Comments

* * *

"Chun--" He paused, looking up towards the other man who was still on the bed. His voice wavers and he breaks into a smile. The laugh comes from him like a newly sprung leak-- timid at first, stopping and starting as he watches Chunta swandle over, trying to comprehend what Takato could have seen. One look at the phone and his eyes are already widened. Chunta grabs the phone, running his gaze over the same few lines again and again, his gaze blank and distracted as he finally settled his gaze back on him.

"Looks like we'd really be stuck together now, huh?" Takato manages to choke out. He's shaking, brimming with elation, waiting.

"Yeah." Chunta's lips twitched upwards and a chuckle broke free, unrestrained. The laugh was in his eyes, in the way his face changed into that vision of pure, relaxed joy and unrestrained mirth. 

In moments he feels his body being moulded to Chunta's, with the other man entertwining them together in an embrace, sharing his body heat as easily as he shared his heart to no one but him. He felt as though he's about to suffocate under the feeling they were both unable to put into cramped words, the feeling they had for each other that was so strong there was no interpretation for it. 

"Ah, look," Chunta scrolls down, reading through the news article. Instead of discouraging them, the fans had been surprisingly open to accepting them as they were, with some becoming even more intrigued by them now that they had come out as lovers. Many fellow actors ( _even Nakata Kouzaburou, Takato notes with a amused smile_ ) had also jumped onto the tweet with the news that was circulating around now, congratulating them. "We seem to be more popular than ever." A pause. "Well, the popularity goes more towards you this time, specifically speaking."

The encouraging comments had been limitless on their social media accounts. Not like Takato cared, though, with the other man right in front of him, cuddling him, his hold tight. "And? What are you going to do about that, best actor?" He laughs. 

"Is that an invitation?" Chunta grins, shrugging off his outer wear. 

“Get comfortable, Takato-san. You’re in for a long night.”

* * *

... Everyday, someone was loving-- someone was being loved. It was a continuous cycle shaped in so many different ways however they wished to.

What Takato had missed from before was that love truly, ultimately exists. No matter how much he was trying to hide it, Chunta had always been there, waiting for him. 

In the peaceful tranquillity of the dark room, Takato gingerly buries his face in Chunta's shoulder, as if to seek solidarity. He places his own hand on Chunta's with a small smile when he notices the ring on his hand, the ring that they both shared.

What started this might have been all just a reckless act made by him while he had been half-awake, but...

"I love you," He whispered, feeling brave.

... he found himself glad for all that's happened. 

Clutching Chunta's hand, Takato allows his eyelids to flutter shut before he drifts back to sleep. 

Together, they faced the world.


End file.
